Gramophone for playing records of an endless film



' Aug. 8, 1939.

s. KONISHI 2,168,529

GRAMQPHONE FOR PLAYING RECORDS OF AN ENDLESS FILM I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed June 25, 1957 Aug. 8, 1939. s. KO NISHI 2,168,529

' I GRAMOPHONE FbR PLAY ENG RECORDS OF AN ENDLESS FILM Filed June 25,1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 8, 1939 I UNl'lED STATESGRAMOPl-IONE FORPLAYING A'N ENnLsss mm RECORDS OF 'Shozo Konishi,Kami-mura, Japan, assignor to NipponFilmon Kabusiki Kaisya, Tokyo,Japan,

a corporation of Japan Application June 23, 1937, Serial No. 15$,006 InJapan May 28, 1934 4 Claims. (Cl. 214-11) This invention relates toimprovements in a 1g it'amophone for playing records ofan endlessm. Anobject of this invention is to obtain a com- 5 pact mechanism,nevertheless a record can .be' sent from a reel of the recordto a placewhere a needle 01 a sound box islocated without" giving any remarkabletwist to the record.

Another object of the invention is to obtain a on the frame, so thatany'vibration of the motor which is employed in this invention fordriving a record.

Another object of this invention is to obtain a means whereby the motoris floatinglysupported on the frame, so that any vibration of the motorwould not be transmitted to' the needle which slides in the sound groovewhen the gramophone is played.

Another object of this invention is to obtain a mearis to utilize amachine for playing endlessfilm records also for playing ordinary discrecords so that a single machine can be employed for both types ofrecords.

Further objects will be better understood from the followingspecification.

In the accompanying drawings,

. Figure 1 is apart sectional sideele'vation of a gramophone accordingto this invention.

' Figure 2 is an elevation of theside opposite to Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the grainophone on the motor side, the powertransmission pulleys and ropes being removed.

Figure 4 is an elevation of the side opposite to Figure 3. t Figure5 isaplan of a reel for the record. Figure 6 is a detailed view of astarting mechanism, and Figure 7 is a sectional view on line 1-1 ofFigure 6. a

In the drawings, I is a bracket to be fixed on the bottom of a cabinet,not shown, and the frame I of. the machine is rotatably supported on:this bracket by means of alined spindles 2. The frame consists of as itsmain part a'cylindrical part In 45 'an'da disc 3b, and the disc isfirmlyfixed to the cylindrical part and its extensions with set screws3c; V

A c-shaped plate 5 is mounted over and spaced apart from the disc-3b bystandards 6. The disc is situated out of the perpendicular, and a series1 of rollers I are rotatably held, disposed on a circle, between thedisc and the C-shaped plate; The C-shaped plate is fixed on the disc insuch a positionthat its open side takes the lowest position. This isclearly seen, on Figure 5.

mit power from the pulley 9 to i2.

Figures 1 and 4, and imaginary perpendicular lines la are rollersrotatably mounted on the disc 3b the peripheries of the rollersappearing a little above the surface of the disc. These rollers aredisposed along the periphery of the disc having their axis in radialdirections as shown on Figure 5' 5, and layers of a coiled record placedaround the rollers I are supported at their edges on the peripheralsurfaces of the rollers la. Since the coiled record is loosely placedaround the rollers I, it passes out from the innermost turn of the 1.coil as it is pulled by a feed mechanism, and passes back to the outsideturn or the coil without undue frictional resistance. 1

Inside the cylindrical part 3a is floaiingly held a small synchronousmotor 4 by means oiflexible 15 bands 8, such as India rubber, leather,or'the like, and a rope pulley 9 is fixed on the motor shaft.

There is a spindle i0 above the motor parallel to the motor shaft andextending through the disc 3b, which is mounted on a journal ii providedin an an upper extensionof the cylindrical part 3a. A rope pulley i2 anda record-feeding pulley ll are fixed on the spindle at each end, andarope it passes over the pulleys 9 and I! so as to trans- The pulley itserves to feed an endless-film record. It has a small flange on eachside so as to prevent the record front getting aside,v and an; Indiarubber sheet with numerous lines or small projections thereon is coatedover the surface so of the pulley so that a record is carried by thepulley without slipping.

The lower part of the pulley i3 extendsto the central space of theO-shaped plate 5 as shown in B drawn along the inner sides-oi theflanges'oi the pulley onFigure 1 intersect imaginary lines A drawn alongboth ends of the rollers I nearly at the periphery of a circletouchingthe outer suriaceot the rollers 1, so that the record comingfrom the outer circle of the rollers I is transferred to the peripheryof the pulley l3 almost at a tangent.

A ratchet wheel 15 is mounted on'the spindle Ill adjacent to the ropepulley i2 and is fixed thereto, as' shown in Figure 'l. a A sector It isloosely mounted on the same spindle adjacent to the ratchet wheel. and arecess I1 is provided on the peripheral surface thereof. 1

At the right cornero! the sector on Fig. 3 is provided a pin is, and alink l8 connects the sec tor atthe pin and an arm of a bell crank 20fixed on a spindle 25. A hook it is loosely titted on the has a smallerdiameter than the width of the recess I1, and the distances of the pinand of the recess from the pin I! are the same, so that if the hooktouches at its free end the periphery of the sector, the pin 22 fitsinto the recess and at the same time the hook engages with a. tooth ofthe ratchet wheel. 23 is a spring provided on the pin is, and acts tohave the hook raise its free end so as to keep the pin 22 a littledistance out of the recess I1 and to disengage the hook from the ratchetwheel.

Along the periphery of the sector is provided,

a guide piece 24 being fixed to the frame. This guide piece has aspecial form as shown in Figures 3 and 6. Its lower side forms an arekeeping a little clearance against the periphery of the per side of theguide piece, while, when it goes to right from the position 22b, it isguided by the obtuse angle at first, and slides along the lower side ofthe guide piece. This means that when the sector turns to left theratchet wheel is not affected at all, while when it turns to the right,the pin 22 is at first pressed down by the guide surface 'so as to getinto the recess II insuring the engagement of the hook with the ratchetwheel, and turns the latter in the clockwise direction.

The spindle 25 on which is fixed the bell crank 2| at one end, has abevel gear 26 at the other end, and this bevel gear engages with anotherone 21 fixed to a vertical spindle 28, which has a handle 29 at its topend.

A knife-edge 30 of an electric switch is fixed to the bell-crank 2|. Theelectric circuit for the motor is opened and closed when thisknife-edgegets out and into the space between the terminals II ofthecircuit, which are fixed on the frame as shown in Figure 2.

The bell-crank 2| is always under the action of a helical spring, 43which is tensioned' between an arm of the bell-crank and a bracket 28ex-' clearance between two terminals ll, as shown on Figure 8, whilewhen the bell-crank is turned to! clockwise direction until its armconnected with thespring It goes over the dead point pullmg the link lldownwards, the spring acts to turn quickly the bellecrank furtherbringing. the link upwards until the upper end of the link II gets incontact with the right end of the guide piece 24 whereby furtherrotation of the bellcrank is,

prevented. In thiscase, the knife-edge comes out .of the terminalsopening the circuit of the motor, and the pin flhasf gone over the leftend of the guide piece. On the spindle II is firmly fixed a worm l2,which engages with a worm gear -32 on a vertical shaft 33, therefore.when the spindle II is rotated by the motor, the vertical shaft isrotatedat a reduced speed. There is a shoulder at the top of thevertical shaft, on which a turn table 3 for disc records can be located.if required.

- Referring toFigure 4, II and 88 are guide rollers for film records,which are held on brackets fixed to the disc plate 3b. 31 is an armfrictionally fixedon the C-shaped plate 5, and can be turned with a knob31a. When a record is to be loaded around the rollers I, the arm isturned in a little' angle to clear the way for the record, and after therecord has been placed in its position, the 'arm is returned to itsoriginal position as shown in Figure 4, so that the record placedaroundthe rollers I does not get aside from its position while therecord is turning around the rollers.

The center of gravity of the machine is at the left side of the spindles2 on Figure 1, therefore the machine has a tendency to inclineanticlockwise around the spindles 2, but an extension 39 of the bracketI holds the end of the frame to at its inner surface to prevent furtherinclination of the machine than the position that the shaft 23 isvertical. If the'machine is inclined by hand to the right side on thespindles 2, the extension 39 'also holds the frames end at its upperedge, so that the disc 31) takes almost a horizontal position. Thisinclined position is convenient for loading or unloading the record.

An endless-film record has been manufactured in such a way that a stripof film was coiled several turns in a diameter so as to loosely fitaround the rollers l, and both ends were connected together. The soundgrooves were impressed on the film before or after it was made endless.

In order to load this endless-film record on the gramophone, the machineis inclined by the handle 29, which will be supported by the stopper 39keeping the,disc plate 36 in a nearly horizontal position. The coiledrecord is placed around the rollers I, the innermost turn of the coilbeing led through the space between two rollers 1 provided at the openend of the d-shaped plate I, passing over the feed roller l3, under theguide roller 35 and over the roller 36 successively, and returning tothe outerside turn of the coil as shown on Figure 4. The arm'" is thenturned outwards, and the machine is removed to its vertical position.

To stop rotation of the gramophone, the operator should turn the handle29 to rotate the bellcrank in the clockwise direction in Fig. 3 so thatthehook 2| is brought to its extreme leftward position on Figure 3,whereby the switch for the motors circuit is open. Thus, the hook isalways at the left end of its stroke when the switch is open.

To begin play of the gramophone, one should quickly turn the handle tothe opposite direction so that the ratchet wheel I is rotated. Thisrotation ofthe ratchet wheel-gives a synchronous speed to the motor, andwhen the bell-crank passes. over its dead center, the spring l2 stronglypulls the bell-crank, and the switch quickly closes the circuit for themotor, so that the latter starts.

A sound box-ll is then placed on the driving pulley ll, so as to haveits needle ll locate in the starting groove of the record which ispassing over the pulley, and the play iscontinued until the needletravels all the grooves. The rotation of the motor can be stopped byhand or by an automatic stopping attachment which opens a switch in thecircuit. 1

In case a disc record is to be played with this machlne,'a spare turntable 34 should be put on the vertical shaft, and the machine can heoperated in the same manner as above described.

What 1 claim 15:? l. A gramophone i'arv playing coiledv endless recordscomprising a sound box, a needle carried by said sound box, a reelhaving an inner space for rotatively supporting a coiled record thereon,a feed pulley for withdrawing 'the inner turn of the coiled record andsending it back to its outer turn, said reel and pulley being positionedso that their planes makean acute angle with each other and thelowermost part or the pulleys periphery being located in said innerspace oi. the reel so that lines drawn along the ends of the record onthe reel intersect otherlines drawn along the edges of the record on thefeed pulley at points near the outer circumference of the coiled recordon the reel, and said needle cooperating with that portion of the recordon said pulley.

2. A gramophone for playing coiled endless records comprising a soundbox, a needle carried by said sound box, a reel having an inner spacefor rotatively supporting 'a coiled record thereon,

' most part of the pulleys periphery being located in the inner space ofsaid reel so that lines drawn along the ends of the record on the reelintersect other lines drawn along the edges of the record on said feedpulley at points near the outer circumierence oi! the coiled record onsaid reel, and said needle cooperating with that portion. or the recordon said pulley.

3. 'A gramophone for playing coiled endless records comprising a soundbox, a needle carried by said sound box, a reel having an.,inner spaceior'rotatively supporting a coiled record, thereon,

a feed pulley for withdrawing the inner turn of the coiled record andreturning it to its outer turn, said reel and pulley being positioned sothat thein planes make an acute angle with each other and the lowermostpart 01' the pulley's periphery being located in said inner space ofsaid reel so that lines drawn along the ends of the record on the reelintersect other linesdrawn along the edges of the record on said feedpulley: at points near the outer circumference oi the coiled recordonthe reel,'a shaft for said feed pulley, a vertical shaft. upon which aturn table can be mounted operatively connected to said shaft of saidfeed pulley, and said needle-cooperating with that portion of the recordon said pulley.

4. A .gramophone for playing coiled endless records comprising a soundbox, a needle carried by said sound box, a reel having an inner spacefor rotatively supporting a coiled record thereon, a feed pulley forwithdrawing the inner turn of the coiled record and returning it to itsouter turn, said reel and pulley being positioned so that their planesmake an acute angle with each other and the lowermost part of thepulley's periphery being located in said inner spaceof said reel so thatlines drawn along, the ends or the record on said reel intersect otherlines drawn along the edges of the record on said feed pulley at pointsnear the outer circumference of said. coiled record, a frame rockinglymounted, driving means for said reel and'pulley located on said frame,and said needle cooperating with that portion oi. the record on saidpulley.

SHOZO KON 'IBHI.

